Melt blowing is an extrusion technology that produces fine fiber webs directly from a polymer. In melt blowing, thermoplastic polymer streams are extruded through a die containing closely arranged small orifices and attenuated by two convergent streams of high-velocity hot air into fine fibers. These fine fibers can be used to form a melt blown web often referred as a blown micro-fiber web. Blown micro-fiber webs are used in a variety of applications including acoustic and thermal insulation, filtration, barrier webs and wipes among many others. The primary resin used in blown micro-fiber processes is polypropylene (PP).
The present invention is an improvement over prior techniques for melt blowing polymer fibers, as well as melt blown fibers and fiber webs.